[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 168 (Thursday, August 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50107-50108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17198]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8462-4; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2005-0029]


Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen--
Health Criteria

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of public comment period on draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen--Health Criteria.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Integrated 
Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen--Health Criteria; First 
External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/099). The draft document was 
prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within 
EPA's Office of Research and Development as part of the Agency's review 
of the air quality criteria for oxides of nitrogen and the primary 
(health-based) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for 
nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of 
seeking comment from the public and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory 
Committee (CASAC). It does not represent and should not be construed to 
represent any Agency policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will 
consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this notice 
when revising the document.

DATES: The public comment period begins on or about August 31, 2007. 
Comments must be received on or before October 31, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of 
Nitrogen; First External Review Draft'' will be available primarily via 
the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home 
page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of CD-ROM or paper copies will be 
available. Contact Ms. Emily Lee by phone 919-541-4169, fax 919-541-
1818, or e-mail ([email protected]) to request either of these, and 
please provide your name, your mailing address, and the draft document 
title, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen; First 
External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/099) to facilitate processing of 
your request. Comments may be submitted electronically via 
www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact Ms. 
Emily Lee, NCEA; telephone: 919-541-4169, facsimile: 919-541-1818, or 
e-mail: [email protected]. For technical information, contact Dennis 
Kotchmar, Ph.D., NCEA; telephone: 919-541-4158; facsimile: 919-541-
1818; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to 
identify certain pollutants which ``may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health and welfare'' and to issue air quality criteria 
for them. These air quality criteria are to ``accurately reflect the 
latest scientific knowledge useful in indicating the kind and extent of 
all identifiable effects on public health or welfare which may be 
expected from the presence of [a] pollutant in the ambient air, * * 
*.'' Under section 109 of the Act, EPA is then to establish national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA 
has issued criteria. Section 109(d) of the Act subsequently requires 
periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality 
criteria to reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of 
the pollutant on public health and welfare. EPA is also to revise the 
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised air quality criteria.
    Oxides of nitrogen are one of six principal (or ``criteria'') 
pollutants for which EPA has established air quality criteria and 
NAAQS. EPA periodically reviews the scientific basis for these 
standards by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) (formerly 
called an Air Quality Criteria Document). The ISA and supplementary 
annexes, in conjunction with additional technical and policy 
assessments, provide the scientific basis for EPA decisions on the 
adequacy of a current NAAQS and the appropriateness of new or revised 
standards. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), an 
independent science advisory committee established pursuant to section 
109 of the Clean Air Act and part of the EPA's Science Advisory Board 
(SAB), provides independent scientific advice on NAAQS matters, 
including advice on EPA's draft ISAs.
    On December 9, 2005 (70 FR 236), EPA formally initiated its current 
review of the criteria for oxides of nitrogen, requesting the 
submission of recent scientific information on specified topics. A 
draft of EPA's ``Integrated Plan for Review of the Primary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard'' was made available in February 2007 for 
public comment and was discussed by the Clean Air Science Advisory 
Committee (CASAC) via a publicly accessible teleconference consultation 
on May 11, 2007 (72 FR 20336). The Plan is being finalized and will be 
made available on EPA's Web site (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naags/standards/nox/s_nox_cr_pd.html). In February 2007 (72 FR 6238), a 
workshop was held to discuss, with invited scientific experts, initial 
draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA and 
supplementary annexes for oxides of nitrogen.
    The draft ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen; 
First External Review Draft'' will be discussed by CASAC at a future 
public meeting; public comments that have been received prior to the 
public meeting will be provided to the CASAC review panel. A future 
Federal Register notice will inform the public of the exact date and 
time of that CASAC meeting.

II. How To Submit Information to the Docket

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-
0029 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection

[[Page 50108]]

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone 
number is 202-566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit one 
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of 
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2007-0029. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a comment includes information claimed to be confidential 
business information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, 
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available 
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends 
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of 
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read 
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: August 23, 2007.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E7-17198 Filed 8-29-07; 8:45 am]
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